It has been 50 years since the Calamity, in 2023. After 5 years of global war, an unknown country unleashed a worldwide biophage, rendering 90% of the devastated adult population sterile. The following generations had a 50/50 sterility rate, and Green Bay, now renamed Phanes Bay, slowly rebuilt.
Today, Phanes bay is split down the middle- between the territory east of the river, dominated by the fertile Humans, and the western side, dominated by the infertile Barren.
Governance
Government Presence (4 T↑)
The government originally started out as a democracy. The populace attempted to model the government after the democratic republic previously established when it was a part of the United States. While this was a good idea in theory, there were not nearly enough people to establish a proper checks and balances system such as a strong judicial branch. Overtime as the importance of fertile people became apparent, they were preserved in safer jobs that limited physical labor and reduced chances of injury. The emphasis on Human rulers and less manpower available for large government establishments resulted in the formation of an oligarchy. The society is now ruled by the Humans, as the president and their cabinet members are all human. The government has a strong influence in people’s lives. They regularly perform fertility testing, referred to as the Discovery, on all citizens between the ages of 12 and 16 and separate them based on the result. The outcome of the fertility test ultimately decides what kind of life the people will live. The available jobs are divided among the Humans and Barren. In general, Barren are expected to take any openings in dangerous, physical work before considering any intellectual pursuits. In practice, as positions in the military- known as the Barren Legion- are the highest social ranks Barren citizens can climb to, there is often an overabundance of Barren applicants. Humans are expected to work far less dangerous jobs such as archivists, technology engineers, government positions, medical and scientific roles. The idea is to preserve as many Humans as possible as the primary function of the government is to keep the population stable. Even though they work to keep the Humans safe, half of the newborn children are still born Barren. Many programs into genetic research are in place to attempt to reverse the results of the Calamity. Phanes Bay also has a very strong military due to abundant industry and they use it to conduct special raids (Acquisitions) to recruit or capture Humans from outside the city. The captured are kept in a special containment building and given amenities to keep them happy while they breed children. While the knowledge of the raids are not a secret, much of the population does not know the exact nature of the raids and how they can sometimes get violent. This has caused much distress in the smaller surrounding settlements.
Rule of Law (1 T↑)
There is currently no rule of law, with courts and judges being nonexistent. Instead, the government uses the Legion to enforce its mandates. Minor criminal infractions are often punished by fees, while more severe crimes by Barren are punished by conscription to Penance Mines. More severe crimes by humans are either punished by heavier fees or glossed over completely. These punishments are dealt out by the Legion but they never perform executions. Any able body is generally considered too precious of a resource to waste. However the government is currently looking to improve the system in order to further suppress lawbreaking without causing harm to the number of population. They feel the need to get involved and regulate the kinds of punishments dealt as citizen decided ones vary depending on who was randomly selected to juror. Having proper guidelines and regulated systems would both streamline the process and inform those the degree of punishment they may receive. They are also considering good Samaritan programs with incentive rewards to coerce citizens into avoiding doing bad things but voluntarily performing good things for the better of the community. The idea of building a proper prison as well as a civilian police force has been considered but they are at the moment merely concepts.
Social Services (3 S)
The government performs a tax on food and other essential resources. The livestock and agriculture businesses all must contribute but are allowed to keep a percentage for themselves for trade. This tax allows a government subsidized program so that everyone within Phanes Bay always receives the bare minimum they require to survive. While no one is ever considered below a decent living standard, Barren citizens are in the lower percentage due to them receiving rations of a lower quality. This bare minimum includes an assigned living space and a weekly ration allocation. This is comprised of taxed resources from livestock, agriculture, hunting and fishing. The size of the home and the amount of food is based on the number of people living in a home. The service also grants free basic resources such as lumber, stone, gravel, water. Other services include free basic healthcare. Every citizen also has access to the archival library. Human citizens automatically receive a higher living standard due to their birthright. This includes a far larger ration supply as well as living spaces in the fertile living zone which are comprised of larger homes. They also receive more luxury services such as a free carriage ride anywhere in the city, cleaning services and nannies. The biggest benefit for fertile families comes from the Large Family Program. This is a program designed to incentivize and push for a large family unit per fertile couple. The minimum for the program is four children, which awards tax breaks and increased subsidies. For every additional child, this benefit is increased. Families also get access to maternity services and home aid during pregnancy. All families receive free services for their children including education, healthcare and daycare. A basic elementary school is given to all students until they reach puberty and have their Discovery revealed. From there they are separated based on what kind of career they wish to enter. Humans go into government, technology and scientific positions that fit a Human job role while Barren students get sent to the military academy, given trade apprenticeships, agriculture or construction jobs. Infrastructure is designed and overseen by the educated Human engineers, however lucky some Barren have been able to secure these jobs and climb the economic ladder. All the manual labor for maintaining and constructing the infrastructure is conducted exclusively by the Barren.
Economics
Economic Strength (5)
Phanes Bay maintains a strong resource economy despite being so isolated. Following the Calamity, much focus was put into maintaining existing power generators in the area. Due to lack of natural gas or coal, Phanes Bay turned to using cleaner energy. In the immediate aftermath of the Calamity, hydraulic power plants were constructed lining the Fox River. As time went on, the hydraulic power plants, solar panels (which were Acquired over time) and the reactivated Shirley Wind Farm generated a functional source of continuous energy for the area. Houses are primarily heated in the winter with fireplaces.
This stable energy source allowed Phanes Bay to maintain some industry. Dairy farms are powered and widely used to provide for the city. Excess electricity is used to charge electric cars that the Legion uses in its Acquisitions.
Cows and livestock products form the backbone of a strong farming economy. With more and more land space reclaimed by nature there’s more pastures than ever for livestock to graze upon. The excess power also allows many of the old factories to be reactivated. Old paper mills have been repurposed to produce textiles and furniture factories now focus on processing raw logs into lumber for building material. Renovated automobile plants produce spare parts needed for maintaining both vehicles and farming equipment. The previously abandoned rock quarries were reopened for the purpose of acquiring building material as well as gravel and sand for usage in water purification.
Apart from cattle, the area is home to large game populations. Small hunting parties sent by the Legion do most of the hunting, with anything fair game except rabbits. Prior to the calamity, Lake Michigan’s fish population was controlled to prevent decline due to overfishing, but as human population and overall consumption fell, the fish populations grew strongly and provides a stable food source.
Wealth Distribution (3)
While there are many wealthy families, particularly those who own large cattle farms and have secured lucrative engineering contracts, most people have basic needs covered. Luxury items, however, have a much broader difference.
Religious officials live the most comfortable lives, with almost all of their needs provided for by the government and donations made to the temples. Next come senior government officials, senior Legionnaires, ranch and factory owners. In the middle class are other government officials, junior Legionnaires, scientists, and tradesmen. Followed by factory workers, unseated Legionnaires, and sanitation officials. Due to the low population, the society can not sacrifice any manpower. Therefore, mine workers (save the overseers) are typically conscripted criminals and make up the lowest class until they’ve paid off their time.
Barren are able to rise to positions of high financial status, usually through exceptional military service or contributions to scientific research, but often find themselves working harder to achieve the same level of financial comfort due to not receiving the same level of subsidies. For example, both races receive water, but Humans are more likely to have indoor plumbing while Barren typically have individual water filtration systems for each family. The water filters are produced in the city using gravel from the mines. Both receive a ration a cloth, but the Humans receive higher quality and more variety.
Humans and Barren are able to find jobs in the medical field. Humans pursuing this career will work at the hospital as doctors and surgeons. Barren can fill these roles but they can also work as field medics in the Legion. However, these positions are only available to Barren if the other manual labor jobs (farms, factories, mines) are already filled. Therefore, the medical field is made up of about 60-75% Humans.
While there is some differences based on race, society on the whole remains above the poverty line and those who want to find work rarely find themselves in a position where they are unable to provide some service to the community.
Agriculture & Trade (2 T↑)
Phanes Bay is able to produce enough food for its population through its strong farming economy. Their agriculture methods are not as advanced as they were before the war, however the large amount of available land means that farmers are able to produce high yields. The strong government presence allows farmers to operate large fields without worrying about being raided. This arrangement means that the government is able to collect food from the farms to distribute across the population.
Trade is rather limited both within the city and out. Internally, most people have all the basic necessities so trade comes from more recreational items or for any services. Phanes Bay maintains strict isolation both geographically and as a policy. With nomadic raiders as their biggest external threat, they can’t afford to move precious resources outside the city too often.
External trade is necessary only for a select few raw materials and finished goods that the factories of the Bay aren't equipped to produce. Among these scarce resources are: crude and refined oils for the making of plastics, rubbers and industrial lubricants, various metals used in the production of spare machine parts, scrap electronic parts used to repair the control terminals in factories as well as repair the solar and wind farms.
The Bay doesn't usually export goods, as it sees relatively small benefit in forming relationships with other settlements, but when it trades for finished goods it usually barters them in exchange for the copious dairy products, fruits and vegetables, grains and the occasional spare water filter.
These are obtained from the larger settlements further away that Phanes Bay maintains a shaky ceasefire with. They are too far away to be a real threat but are likewise large enough to be too risky to take over by force. The large settlements will trade to obtain items they cannot produce on their own, but otherwise they out of each other's way.
Smaller settlements in the surrounding area aren’t seen as equal trading partners and are raided for raw materials and Humans instead.
Social Relations There are very few class distinctions in Phanes bay. The oligarchy enjoys a higher status than the rest of the population, and several engineers are able to work their way up the that same level. The rest of the population is well off and there are no other major wealth gaps.
Racial identity is a driving force within Phanes Bay. While there is no real conflict between Humans and Barren, they have formed diverse cultures whose values are often incompatible with their counterparts. Until testing can determine whether a child is Human or Barren, care is taken to avoid treating them as if they’re part of any particular race. As such, there are no Human or Barren children; there are just children. Then, after their Discovery, they are either Human or Barren adults, their new identity in the public record.
The only discrimination that has made it into law is job opportunities. Humans are barred from work deemed hazardous enough; their reproductive duty is too valuable and necessary to be wasted. Therefore, while a large portion of the workforce is diverse, there are fields operated entirely by Barren. Most notable of these is the Barren Legion, whose only counterpoint to this racial power-center is the Human-run government. In addition, though it is not explicitly in the law, Humans receive superior tax benefits, as tax cuts exist for family units with enough children. While Barren are can adopt the children everyone pretends to not know the origin of, they rarely meet the quota for those benefits.
Barren culture is very open and accepting, while Human culture is a well-defined immovable object. Though Human culture stemmed from reproductive needs, society has molded those specific needs into broad-sweeping stigmas. Sex is a powerful social force and prevalent, even religious, topic. Humans demand heterosexuality and subscribe to the gender binary, as all sex involving Humans should have a chance at reproduction. With all children having Human biological parents, an overwhelming majority of children are raised by Humans, and so Humans value the monogamous, nuclear family.
In contrast, Barren hold none of those ideas, as they never had the weight of repopulation on their shoulders. Barren have the luxury of being able to see gender and sexual orientation as a spectrum. Without a need for family units, polyamory is more common in Barren culture. Sex is purely recreational activity for eunuchs, though it is not glamorized and broadcasted as in Human culture.
With a river splitting the city, Humans and Barren naturally gravitated towards their own cultures, with Humans as the majority population in the east, and Barren likewise in the west. As such, services more oriented towards particular races settled down on their respective sides of the river. The east became headquarters for both religion and government, as well as hosting all the city’s schools. The west is nearly devoid of children, and is home to the Legion headquarters and officer barracks, though there are barracks located throughout the city. The best bars are on the west side, as there are no children to look after and soldiers make the best customers. The west is also home to the jobs decreed too hazardous for humans, and the lack of children’s innocent eyes make it the perfect place for the red-light district. While Humans have plenty of reasons to be seen on the west side, they stay away from that area or avoid being recognized there. Human-Barren romantic relationships, or even purely sexual encounters, are taboo beyond compare, and the district’s entrenchment in Barren territory pushes those boundaries. Humans are better off seeking needs within their relationships, and do not run any services within the district.
Cultural Influences
Military (4 T↑) The military of Phanes Bay’s 3 mandates are: The defense of the city, maintaining order, and acquiring new resources. It is comprised almost entirely by Barren, with the safer administrative positions filled by Humans. Barren however still hold the superior officer positions and are the highest ranked Barren in the city. Approximately 30% of Barren go to military school to join the Legion after initial schooling is completed. There, Barren endure intense physical training as well as mental conditioning to prevent any potential disobedience toward the government.
Mandate 1 of their code is the defense of the city, whose main threats include roaming raiders and occasional scouts from other settlements. With the nearest potentially threatening settlement over 30 miles away, a large-scale invasion is not likely. Despite this, Legionnaires are placed at regular intervals across the city wall, each armed with crossbows.
Mandate 2 is the maintenance of order within the city. The government, run by Humans, no longer maintains a judiciary system. Instead, they rely on the military to enforce the law and punish those who would break it. They are both protectors and enforcers. Since no judicial system is in place, citizens who are friendlier with the military guards often get their way in a disputed breach of law. Guards are highly discouraged from killing citizens for crimes, as the population decrease makes supplying the workforce challenging enough without additional citizens being lost due to hasty decision making.
Mandate 3 is the acquiring of new resources, namely new Humans. Scouting teams are sent out on a regular basis to keep track of raider clans and to find new settlements. When enough information is obtained, raiding parties, often referred to as “Acquisitions”, are sent out the take any useful technology, books, food and, most importantly, Humans. With the growth of Phanes Bay’s self-sufficiency and the population, the military has grown in strength and boldness. It is only a matter of time before they begin targeting larger settlements.
Religion (3 T↑)
Despite the fall of civilization as we knew it, Religion is still alive and well in Phanes Bay. In the place of the old religions came a new one devoted to venerating and worshiping mothers and creators. The primary deity of this religion is named Inanna, and she is a goddess representing the sacred role of the mother in this new society. She is prayed to both by the Barren as well as Humans, as each has a place in Her world. Human mothers and fathers in are honored by this religion and are the only people allowed to become priests and priestesses of the faith. Barren are able to become attendants and are respected as physical creators. What they cannot create within themselves, they make up for by creating with their hands and their minds. Because of this respect, the Inannans have proved to be a stabilizing force within Phanes Bay.
Among the Clergy; Priests maintain the temples, organize the holy scriptures, and use the populations of rabbits to divine the future. Priestesses hold positions of power in the city and preside over Human marriages, act as aids to doctors and nurses, perform funeral rites and organize festivals celebrating booms in the rabbit population which are considered good fortune. Positions within the clergy are determined based upon both the faith of the prospective Priest or Priestess as well as their fertility. To qualify for any position of authority the applicant must have at least had twins, and the current High Priestess of Inanna had Quadruplets in what has been considered a divine act. She has been solely responsible for the holy calendar for the past three years.
As a goddess of war, Inanna also espouses the strength and wisdom of the military. Followers of Inanna support the military and view the Acquisitions Branch with a kind of tacit approval despite their unscrupulous methods.
Tech (5) 50 years of restructuring and rebuilding society has effectively delayed the advancement of technology. This resulted in the community becoming exceptional at maintaining and fixing all existing tech with scrap and spare parts. They have been surprisingly successful at maintaining this technology, most notably the factories, power plants and windmills without which Phanes Bay would not have survived or grown nearly as much. Additionally, due to the limited resources one city can have, the lack of safe trading allies and the loss of global manufacturing, it is not common to see new pieces of technology. Furthermore, the tech in this community tends to lean toward military weapons, and the genetic engineering of plants for higher crop yields and people in an attempt to increase overall fertility within the population. The third of these focuses is highly experimental and is yet to result in anything substantial, but as a result of the communities religious fervor and donations, it remains one of the very few things that the majority of people will agree to allocate important resources toward.
Arts & Culture (1)
As a result of the lack of excess resources, the further development of art and culture has been brought to a complete halt. This community as a whole struggled so hard to achieve stability in this new status quo that they placed the arts to the side. The only new developments of culture have been the dramatic expansion of this town's military forces for the purposes of mandates 1 through 3. In addition we see the rise of a “new” religion, so the culture over the last 50 years has gradually shifted away from the most common world religions to this one. This religion in question does not encourage the use of icons and artwork, instead venerating science and mathematics. However these cannot really be looked at as advancements or innovative, as these changes merely lean into previous cultures, and in many ways they’re systematic discrimination, theocracy, and hyper militarism are steps backward in the culture they maintained before the sterilization occured. As a result none of the changes can be considered advancements.
Table of Contents
Today, Phanes bay is split down the middle- between the territory east of the river, dominated by the fertile Humans, and the western side, dominated by the infertile Barren.
Governance
Government Presence (4 T↑)
The government originally started out as a democracy. The populace attempted to model the government after the democratic republic previously established when it was a part of the United States. While this was a good idea in theory, there were not nearly enough people to establish a proper checks and balances system such as a strong judicial branch. Overtime as the importance of fertile people became apparent, they were preserved in safer jobs that limited physical labor and reduced chances of injury. The emphasis on Human rulers and less manpower available for large government establishments resulted in the formation of an oligarchy. The society is now ruled by the Humans, as the president and their cabinet members are all human. The government has a strong influence in people’s lives. They regularly perform fertility testing, referred to as the Discovery, on all citizens between the ages of 12 and 16 and separate them based on the result. The outcome of the fertility test ultimately decides what kind of life the people will live. The available jobs are divided among the Humans and Barren. In general, Barren are expected to take any openings in dangerous, physical work before considering any intellectual pursuits. In practice, as positions in the military- known as the Barren Legion- are the highest social ranks Barren citizens can climb to, there is often an overabundance of Barren applicants. Humans are expected to work far less dangerous jobs such as archivists, technology engineers, government positions, medical and scientific roles. The idea is to preserve as many Humans as possible as the primary function of the government is to keep the population stable. Even though they work to keep the Humans safe, half of the newborn children are still born Barren. Many programs into genetic research are in place to attempt to reverse the results of the Calamity. Phanes Bay also has a very strong military due to abundant industry and they use it to conduct special raids (Acquisitions) to recruit or capture Humans from outside the city. The captured are kept in a special containment building and given amenities to keep them happy while they breed children. While the knowledge of the raids are not a secret, much of the population does not know the exact nature of the raids and how they can sometimes get violent. This has caused much distress in the smaller surrounding settlements.Rule of Law (1 T↑)
There is currently no rule of law, with courts and judges being nonexistent. Instead, the government uses the Legion to enforce its mandates. Minor criminal infractions are often punished by fees, while more severe crimes by Barren are punished by conscription to Penance Mines. More severe crimes by humans are either punished by heavier fees or glossed over completely. These punishments are dealt out by the Legion but they never perform executions. Any able body is generally considered too precious of a resource to waste. However the government is currently looking to improve the system in order to further suppress lawbreaking without causing harm to the number of population. They feel the need to get involved and regulate the kinds of punishments dealt as citizen decided ones vary depending on who was randomly selected to juror. Having proper guidelines and regulated systems would both streamline the process and inform those the degree of punishment they may receive. They are also considering good Samaritan programs with incentive rewards to coerce citizens into avoiding doing bad things but voluntarily performing good things for the better of the community. The idea of building a proper prison as well as a civilian police force has been considered but they are at the moment merely concepts.
Social Services (3 S)
The government performs a tax on food and other essential resources. The livestock and agriculture businesses all must contribute but are allowed to keep a percentage for themselves for trade. This tax allows a government subsidized program so that everyone within Phanes Bay always receives the bare minimum they require to survive. While no one is ever considered below a decent living standard, Barren citizens are in the lower percentage due to them receiving rations of a lower quality. This bare minimum includes an assigned living space and a weekly ration allocation. This is comprised of taxed resources from livestock, agriculture, hunting and fishing. The size of the home and the amount of food is based on the number of people living in a home. The service also grants free basic resources such as lumber, stone, gravel, water. Other services include free basic healthcare. Every citizen also has access to the archival library. Human citizens automatically receive a higher living standard due to their birthright. This includes a far larger ration supply as well as living spaces in the fertile living zone which are comprised of larger homes. They also receive more luxury services such as a free carriage ride anywhere in the city, cleaning services and nannies. The biggest benefit for fertile families comes from the Large Family Program. This is a program designed to incentivize and push for a large family unit per fertile couple. The minimum for the program is four children, which awards tax breaks and increased subsidies. For every additional child, this benefit is increased. Families also get access to maternity services and home aid during pregnancy. All families receive free services for their children including education, healthcare and daycare. A basic elementary school is given to all students until they reach puberty and have their Discovery revealed. From there they are separated based on what kind of career they wish to enter. Humans go into government, technology and scientific positions that fit a Human job role while Barren students get sent to the military academy, given trade apprenticeships, agriculture or construction jobs. Infrastructure is designed and overseen by the educated Human engineers, however lucky some Barren have been able to secure these jobs and climb the economic ladder. All the manual labor for maintaining and constructing the infrastructure is conducted exclusively by the Barren.Economics
Economic Strength (5)
Phanes Bay maintains a strong resource economy despite being so isolated. Following the Calamity, much focus was put into maintaining existing power generators in the area. Due to lack of natural gas or coal, Phanes Bay turned to using cleaner energy. In the immediate aftermath of the Calamity, hydraulic power plants were constructed lining the Fox River. As time went on, the hydraulic power plants, solar panels (which were Acquired over time) and the reactivated Shirley Wind Farm generated a functional source of continuous energy for the area. Houses are primarily heated in the winter with fireplaces.This stable energy source allowed Phanes Bay to maintain some industry. Dairy farms are powered and widely used to provide for the city. Excess electricity is used to charge electric cars that the Legion uses in its Acquisitions.
Cows and livestock products form the backbone of a strong farming economy. With more and more land space reclaimed by nature there’s more pastures than ever for livestock to graze upon. The excess power also allows many of the old factories to be reactivated. Old paper mills have been repurposed to produce textiles and furniture factories now focus on processing raw logs into lumber for building material. Renovated automobile plants produce spare parts needed for maintaining both vehicles and farming equipment. The previously abandoned rock quarries were reopened for the purpose of acquiring building material as well as gravel and sand for usage in water purification.
Apart from cattle, the area is home to large game populations. Small hunting parties sent by the Legion do most of the hunting, with anything fair game except rabbits. Prior to the calamity, Lake Michigan’s fish population was controlled to prevent decline due to overfishing, but as human population and overall consumption fell, the fish populations grew strongly and provides a stable food source.
Wealth Distribution (3)
While there are many wealthy families, particularly those who own large cattle farms and have secured lucrative engineering contracts, most people have basic needs covered. Luxury items, however, have a much broader difference.Religious officials live the most comfortable lives, with almost all of their needs provided for by the government and donations made to the temples. Next come senior government officials, senior Legionnaires, ranch and factory owners. In the middle class are other government officials, junior Legionnaires, scientists, and tradesmen. Followed by factory workers, unseated Legionnaires, and sanitation officials. Due to the low population, the society can not sacrifice any manpower. Therefore, mine workers (save the overseers) are typically conscripted criminals and make up the lowest class until they’ve paid off their time.
Barren are able to rise to positions of high financial status, usually through exceptional military service or contributions to scientific research, but often find themselves working harder to achieve the same level of financial comfort due to not receiving the same level of subsidies. For example, both races receive water, but Humans are more likely to have indoor plumbing while Barren typically have individual water filtration systems for each family. The water filters are produced in the city using gravel from the mines. Both receive a ration a cloth, but the Humans receive higher quality and more variety.
Humans and Barren are able to find jobs in the medical field. Humans pursuing this career will work at the hospital as doctors and surgeons. Barren can fill these roles but they can also work as field medics in the Legion. However, these positions are only available to Barren if the other manual labor jobs (farms, factories, mines) are already filled. Therefore, the medical field is made up of about 60-75% Humans.
While there is some differences based on race, society on the whole remains above the poverty line and those who want to find work rarely find themselves in a position where they are unable to provide some service to the community.
Agriculture & Trade (2 T↑)
Phanes Bay is able to produce enough food for its population through its strong farming economy. Their agriculture methods are not as advanced as they were before the war, however the large amount of available land means that farmers are able to produce high yields. The strong government presence allows farmers to operate large fields without worrying about being raided. This arrangement means that the government is able to collect food from the farms to distribute across the population.Trade is rather limited both within the city and out. Internally, most people have all the basic necessities so trade comes from more recreational items or for any services. Phanes Bay maintains strict isolation both geographically and as a policy. With nomadic raiders as their biggest external threat, they can’t afford to move precious resources outside the city too often.
External trade is necessary only for a select few raw materials and finished goods that the factories of the Bay aren't equipped to produce. Among these scarce resources are: crude and refined oils for the making of plastics, rubbers and industrial lubricants, various metals used in the production of spare machine parts, scrap electronic parts used to repair the control terminals in factories as well as repair the solar and wind farms.
The Bay doesn't usually export goods, as it sees relatively small benefit in forming relationships with other settlements, but when it trades for finished goods it usually barters them in exchange for the copious dairy products, fruits and vegetables, grains and the occasional spare water filter.
These are obtained from the larger settlements further away that Phanes Bay maintains a shaky ceasefire with. They are too far away to be a real threat but are likewise large enough to be too risky to take over by force. The large settlements will trade to obtain items they cannot produce on their own, but otherwise they out of each other's way.
Smaller settlements in the surrounding area aren’t seen as equal trading partners and are raided for raw materials and Humans instead.
Social Relations
There are very few class distinctions in Phanes bay. The oligarchy enjoys a higher status than the rest of the population, and several engineers are able to work their way up the that same level. The rest of the population is well off and there are no other major wealth gaps.
Racial identity is a driving force within Phanes Bay. While there is no real conflict between Humans and Barren, they have formed diverse cultures whose values are often incompatible with their counterparts. Until testing can determine whether a child is Human or Barren, care is taken to avoid treating them as if they’re part of any particular race. As such, there are no Human or Barren children; there are just children. Then, after their Discovery, they are either Human or Barren adults, their new identity in the public record.
The only discrimination that has made it into law is job opportunities. Humans are barred from work deemed hazardous enough; their reproductive duty is too valuable and necessary to be wasted. Therefore, while a large portion of the workforce is diverse, there are fields operated entirely by Barren. Most notable of these is the Barren Legion, whose only counterpoint to this racial power-center is the Human-run government. In addition, though it is not explicitly in the law, Humans receive superior tax benefits, as tax cuts exist for family units with enough children. While Barren are can adopt the children everyone pretends to not know the origin of, they rarely meet the quota for those benefits.
Barren culture is very open and accepting, while Human culture is a well-defined immovable object. Though Human culture stemmed from reproductive needs, society has molded those specific needs into broad-sweeping stigmas. Sex is a powerful social force and prevalent, even religious, topic. Humans demand heterosexuality and subscribe to the gender binary, as all sex involving Humans should have a chance at reproduction. With all children having Human biological parents, an overwhelming majority of children are raised by Humans, and so Humans value the monogamous, nuclear family.
In contrast, Barren hold none of those ideas, as they never had the weight of repopulation on their shoulders. Barren have the luxury of being able to see gender and sexual orientation as a spectrum. Without a need for family units, polyamory is more common in Barren culture. Sex is purely recreational activity for eunuchs, though it is not glamorized and broadcasted as in Human culture.
With a river splitting the city, Humans and Barren naturally gravitated towards their own cultures, with Humans as the majority population in the east, and Barren likewise in the west. As such, services more oriented towards particular races settled down on their respective sides of the river. The east became headquarters for both religion and government, as well as hosting all the city’s schools. The west is nearly devoid of children, and is home to the Legion headquarters and officer barracks, though there are barracks located throughout the city. The best bars are on the west side, as there are no children to look after and soldiers make the best customers. The west is also home to the jobs decreed too hazardous for humans, and the lack of children’s innocent eyes make it the perfect place for the red-light district. While Humans have plenty of reasons to be seen on the west side, they stay away from that area or avoid being recognized there. Human-Barren romantic relationships, or even purely sexual encounters, are taboo beyond compare, and the district’s entrenchment in Barren territory pushes those boundaries. Humans are better off seeking needs within their relationships, and do not run any services within the district.
Cultural Influences
Military (4 T↑)The military of Phanes Bay’s 3 mandates are: The defense of the city, maintaining order, and acquiring new resources. It is comprised almost entirely by Barren, with the safer administrative positions filled by Humans. Barren however still hold the superior officer positions and are the highest ranked Barren in the city. Approximately 30% of Barren go to military school to join the Legion after initial schooling is completed. There, Barren endure intense physical training as well as mental conditioning to prevent any potential disobedience toward the government.
Mandate 1 of their code is the defense of the city, whose main threats include roaming raiders and occasional scouts from other settlements. With the nearest potentially threatening settlement over 30 miles away, a large-scale invasion is not likely. Despite this, Legionnaires are placed at regular intervals across the city wall, each armed with crossbows.
Mandate 2 is the maintenance of order within the city. The government, run by Humans, no longer maintains a judiciary system. Instead, they rely on the military to enforce the law and punish those who would break it. They are both protectors and enforcers. Since no judicial system is in place, citizens who are friendlier with the military guards often get their way in a disputed breach of law. Guards are highly discouraged from killing citizens for crimes, as the population decrease makes supplying the workforce challenging enough without additional citizens being lost due to hasty decision making.
Mandate 3 is the acquiring of new resources, namely new Humans. Scouting teams are sent out on a regular basis to keep track of raider clans and to find new settlements. When enough information is obtained, raiding parties, often referred to as “Acquisitions”, are sent out the take any useful technology, books, food and, most importantly, Humans. With the growth of Phanes Bay’s self-sufficiency and the population, the military has grown in strength and boldness. It is only a matter of time before they begin targeting larger settlements.
Religion (3 T↑)
Despite the fall of civilization as we knew it, Religion is still alive and well in Phanes Bay. In the place of the old religions came a new one devoted to venerating and worshiping mothers and creators. The primary deity of this religion is named Inanna, and she is a goddess representing the sacred role of the mother in this new society. She is prayed to both by the Barren as well as Humans, as each has a place in Her world. Human mothers and fathers in are honored by this religion and are the only people allowed to become priests and priestesses of the faith. Barren are able to become attendants and are respected as physical creators. What they cannot create within themselves, they make up for by creating with their hands and their minds. Because of this respect, the Inannans have proved to be a stabilizing force within Phanes Bay.Among the Clergy; Priests maintain the temples, organize the holy scriptures, and use the populations of rabbits to divine the future. Priestesses hold positions of power in the city and preside over Human marriages, act as aids to doctors and nurses, perform funeral rites and organize festivals celebrating booms in the rabbit population which are considered good fortune. Positions within the clergy are determined based upon both the faith of the prospective Priest or Priestess as well as their fertility. To qualify for any position of authority the applicant must have at least had twins, and the current High Priestess of Inanna had Quadruplets in what has been considered a divine act. She has been solely responsible for the holy calendar for the past three years.
As a goddess of war, Inanna also espouses the strength and wisdom of the military. Followers of Inanna support the military and view the Acquisitions Branch with a kind of tacit approval despite their unscrupulous methods.
Tech (5)
50 years of restructuring and rebuilding society has effectively delayed the advancement of technology. This resulted in the community becoming exceptional at maintaining and fixing all existing tech with scrap and spare parts. They have been surprisingly successful at maintaining this technology, most notably the factories, power plants and windmills without which Phanes Bay would not have survived or grown nearly as much. Additionally, due to the limited resources one city can have, the lack of safe trading allies and the loss of global manufacturing, it is not common to see new pieces of technology. Furthermore, the tech in this community tends to lean toward military weapons, and the genetic engineering of plants for higher crop yields and people in an attempt to increase overall fertility within the population. The third of these focuses is highly experimental and is yet to result in anything substantial, but as a result of the communities religious fervor and donations, it remains one of the very few things that the majority of people will agree to allocate important resources toward.
Arts & Culture (1)
As a result of the lack of excess resources, the further development of art and culture has been brought to a complete halt. This community as a whole struggled so hard to achieve stability in this new status quo that they placed the arts to the side. The only new developments of culture have been the dramatic expansion of this town's military forces for the purposes of mandates 1 through 3. In addition we see the rise of a “new” religion, so the culture over the last 50 years has gradually shifted away from the most common world religions to this one. This religion in question does not encourage the use of icons and artwork, instead venerating science and mathematics. However these cannot really be looked at as advancements or innovative, as these changes merely lean into previous cultures, and in many ways they’re systematic discrimination, theocracy, and hyper militarism are steps backward in the culture they maintained before the sterilization occured. As a result none of the changes can be considered advancements.People, Places, and Things